Lamar sports information
BEAUMONT — With the possibility of rain looming, the Lamar baseball team is still slated to host in-state rival Rice at 6 tonight in the final contest of the 14-game home stand that opened the 2016 campaign at Vincent-Beck Stadium.
Both teams will confer this morning and see if there is still a possibility of play. Continue to check LamarCardinals.com or @Lamar_Baseball on Twitter for updated information on the game.
The Owls (6-6) and Cardinals (9-4) have a long-standing tradition against each other, a tradition that spans 124 games and lasts for as long as there has been LU baseball. Along with that, both head coaches are longtime managers of their respective ball clubs.
Jim Gilligan, who is retiring at the conclusion of the season, is in his 39th season as the skipper for LU and has amassed more than 1,300 wins and Wayne Graham has been with the Owls as head coach since 1992 and has well over 1,000 wins. Between the two, the field will host more than 2,400 Division I wins.
The all-time advantage swings Rice’s way at 78-46, including last season’s matchup that had the Owls victorious, 4-3 at The Beck. Normally, the two teams meet for a home-and-home each season, but coincidentally the first game of last year’s series was rained out.
Rice, which started out the season in the Top 25, took two of three from Central Florida at Reckling Park over the weekend, including a 13-10 victory in the finale on Sunday. It started its season out with two losses in a three-game tilt with Arizona.
The Owls come in with a team batting average of .237 and averages 4.2 runs a game. Shortstop Ford Proctor tops the team in hitting at .359, and is followed by Dayne Wunderlich (.333), Charlie Warren (.317) and Grayson Lewis (.306). Wunderlich, left fielder, is the team’s leader in runs and RBI with nine and 10, respectively. He also has the team’s highest slugging percentage, .455.
Lamar enters the game with four .300-plus hitters as well, led by catcher Bryndan Arredondo at .465. He ranks third in the Southland Conference and 37th in the country. Reid Russell is hitting .327 on the year followed by Cutter McDowell (.314) and Jake Nash (.302).
Nash comes in after a huge week that had him with eight RBI and four runs scored.
Neither team has announced a starter for the contest.